Apparatus for feeding and sensing statistical cards



K. J. BRAuN 2,704,186

6 Sheets-Sheet l *INVENTOR. Kar/ Jfira an BY W 0W 1 A TTORNE Y March 15,1955 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSING STATISTICAL CARDS Filed April 23,1951 0 Wu 0 fig 0 0 0 K. J. BRAUN 2,704,186

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSING STATISTICAL CARDS March 15, 1955 6Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 23, 1951 v A INVENTOR. B Kar/Jfiraun Y "rj/ZMM 5. W

ATTORNE Y K. J. BRAUN March 15, 1955 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSINGSTATISTICAL CARDS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 23, 1951 INVENTOR. IKqr/JBraun ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSING STATISTICAL CARDSFiled April 25, 1951 K. J. BRAUN March 15, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V ENTOR. Kar/Jfiraun done I x k hm mm mm A TTORNE Y K. J. BRAUN March 15,1955 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSING STATISTICAL CARDS 6 Sheets-Sheet5 Filed April 23, 1951 V INVENTOR. KaF/JB Q M 5) EM. ATTORNEY March 15,1955 K. J. BRAUN 2,704,186

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSING STATISTICAL CARDS Filed April 23. 19516 Sheets-Sheet 6 A n wIoIIJI-Vnum C RS 26 IN V EN TOR.

KarfJBa aun Aye.

A TTORNE Y United States Patent Ofiice 2,704,186 Patented Mar. 15, 1955APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND SENSING STATISTICAL CARDS Karl I. Braun,Glenbrook, Conn.

Application April 23, 1951, Serial No. 222,401

17 Claims. (Cl. 235-61.11)

This invention relates broadly to improvements in card feeding andsensing mechanisms, and more particularly to new and novel method andapparatus for feeding and sensing statistical record cards, for example,punched cards or tags of the kind disclosed in my copending patentapplication Serial No. 184,423, filed September 12, 1950, for a TagMarking Machine.

In prior statistical record card feeding and sensing devices it has beenthe customary practice to place a stack of uniformly sized cards in amagazine and successively feed the bottom card from the stack through acontrolled slot by a reciprocating picker knife. The cards are thensubsequently fed by rotating mechanisms such as skid rolls, eject rolls,and the like. However, this type of card feed has numerousdisadvantages, since the feed is not positive and its accuracy dependsto a large degree upon the cards being of uniform size and in goodcondition, that is, not torn, creased or otherwise mutilated.Furthermore, in card feeding and sensing devices wherein the cards arefed by skid rolls and like rotating devices which depend entirely uponfriction for the driving force, there is a tendency for the cards tointersort at the discharge end of the machine thus destroying a givensequence of the cards.

The present invention contemplates the provision of an improved andsimplified method and means for feeding statistical record cards thatwill eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages of prior card handlingdevices.

The invention further contemplates an improved card feeding and sensingdevice that is automatic and requires a minimum of attention; one thatwill intermittently feed cards in a positive manner; one that will feedintermixed cards of various length; one that will feed cards of variouslengths and/or widths in the same run; one that will accurately feedcards which may have been widely circulated and handled, or cards thathave been torn, creased, or the dimensions of which have been changeddue to atmospheric conditions, or otherwise mutilated to adverselyaffect them from the standpoint of feed handling or sensing the punchedinformation contained therein; one which employs no skid rolls or otherfriction feeding devices; one which does not depend upon the marginaledges or size of the card in any manner; one in which the cards cannotbe put into the delivery station in reversed position; one whichpositively prevents feeding one card beneath another card, orintersorting at the discharge end or removal station of the machine; andone which preferably discharges the cards horizontally and in a positivemanner to a controlled stack so that card sequence is not lost.

A still further important feature of the present invention is theprovision of a card feeding apparatus wherein the feeding means not onlyserves to feed the cards but simultaneously acts as a positive locatingmeans for the cards at one or more operating stations along the path ofcard travel between the delivery station and removal station orstations.

A still further object of the invention is to provide card feeding andsensing apparatus of a character which is simple in structure yet ruggedin nature and one that will more satisfactorily perform the functionsrequired of it.

Having regard to the foregoing and other objects and advantages whichwill become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consistsessentially in the novel combination and arrangement of partshereinafter described in detail and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary isometric view of a statistical card feeding andsensing device embodying the principles of the present invention, thepower operating mechanism of which is not shown due to lack of space.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the invention, partly in vertical section.

Figs. 3 to 6 are progressive side elevational views of the cams,follower rollers and part of the linkage for controlling theintermittent card feed, sensing and ejecting mechanisms.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in vertical section of thecard feeding and ejecting mechanism at the beginning of a card feedingcycle.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 illustrating the position the partsassume at the end of a card feeding cycle.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail view partly in vertical section of aportion of one of the probing or sensing stations, the scale beinghighly magnified.

Fig. 10 is a sectional plan view of Fig. 1 the section being taken justbelow the traveling carriage for the card feeding and locating pins.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view partly invertical section to clearly illustrate the card sensing or probingstations and portions of the sensing mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a perspective detail of the card stacking control means.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the detent meansfor the pins used in the card stacking control means, and

Figs. 14 to 17 respectively are fragmentary longitudinal sectional viewsillustrating one complete card feeding and sensing or probing cycle ofthe machine.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood oneconstruction according thereto will now be described, by way of example,with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate theinvention as applied to a machine for feeding and sensing statisticalrecord cards.

In the construction shown, the framework for the card feeding andsensing mechanism comprises a base plate 1 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 10) fromwhich rises a vertical frame plate 2 that extends substantially from thefront to the rear of the base plate. For purposes of description only,the front of the machine will be considered to the left and the rear ofthe machine to the right in all views.

Spaced above the base plate 1 and projecting horizontally from the frameplate 2 are three spaced supporting arms indicated at 3, 4 and 5respectively. Mounted upon the arms 4 and 5 are four equally spacedsupporting bars 6 to which a card supporting plate or table 7 is securedin any convenient manner, as for example by screws 8. As best shown inFig. 10, the card plate or table 7 is provided with parallel elongatedclearance slots 9 for the card feeding and locating pins 10 for reasonspresently described.

Positioned above the card plate 7, are three horizontally disposedparallel plates 11, 12 and 13 respectively, which are spaced from oneanother and from the card plate 7 by spacers 14 as clearly shown in Fig.11. The front ends of the plates 11, 12 and 13 are supported by thehorizontal supporting arm 3 and secured to this arm by screws 15, whilethe rear or opposite ends of the plates 11, 12 and 13 are secured to thebar 19 by screws 29.

Card magazine According to the present invention the punched recordcards C may be fed seriatim from a magazine M by means of a picker knifeor sliding plate 17. However, it should be made clear at this time thatshould it be desired to feed intermixed cards of various lengths andwidths in the same run, the magazine M may be dispensed with, orenlarged to accommodate the largest size card as will be presentlyunderstood as the description proceeds. The forward wall of the magazineM is formed by a vertical plate 18 secured to the frame plate 2 byscrews 20 (Fig. 10) and the side walls 21 and 22 of said magazine may beformed from sheet metal and attached to the wall 18 by suitable meanssuch as the screws 23. The bottom edge of wall 18, of the card magazineM, is spaced from the card plate 7 (Fig. 11) to provide a card slot 24,and a vertically adjustable throat bar 25, slidablv mounted within agroove in wall 18, serves to provide a micrometer slot through whichonly the lowermost card C from the stack S will pass, during eachoperating cycle of the picker knife 17 in a manner well understood inthe art.

The statistical record cards in the stack S are nositively held instacked relation relative to one another by a plurality of pins 26. inthe present embodiment of the invention there are preferably three ofthe pins 26, as best shown in Fig. 12, and these pins are detachablvheld in a substantially rectangular block 16 by suitable spring pressedball detents 27 as illustrated in detail in Figs. 12 and 13. It shouldalso be noted that both ends of the pins 26 taper to a point tofacilitate their insertion into the locating holes 28 (Fig. 11) in therecord cards C. It is this pin arrangement that prevents the recordcards C from being put into the delivery station DS in reversed positionrelative to one another.

Before placing a stack S of cards C upon the pins 26, an oblong weightedblock 30 (drilled to receive the pins) is slipped upon the pins toinsure proper positioning of the bottom card of the stack relative tothe picker knife 17. To insure that the pins 26 are held free of andabove the bottom card C in stack S, the side walls 21 and 22 of themagazine M are provided with inwardly proiectilrzsg indentations 21(Fig. 1) to form a seat for the block As stated earlier, the punchedrecord cards C are fed seriatim from the magazine M, or delivery stationDS, by means of a sliding plate or picker knife 17. This plate isconfined to horizontal reciprocating movement between the card plate 7and a cover plate 32, the latter being suitably spaced from plate 7 (seeFigs. 7, 8 and 10). The cover plate 32 is rigidly secured by screws 34passing through the spacers and received by threaded holes in the twoouter supporting bars 6 as best illustrated in Fig. 10.

Plate 17 is guided, during its movement fore and aft of the machine, bya block 35 secured thereto and slid able between parallel bars 36supported by supporting arm and cross bar 19 and secured thereto byscrews 37 or other suitable fastening means. Reciprocating movement isimparted to block 35, and in turn plate 17 through a depending arm 38 ofthe block in a manner and by means presently described.

Card feeding mechanism For a clearer understanding of how the recordcards C are progressively and intermittently fed by the card feeding andlocating pins 10, previously briefly mentioned. attention is nowdirected especially to Figs. 1, 7, 8 and 14 to 17 respectively.

By reference to these figures it will be observed that in the presentembodiment of the invention, three pairs of spaced feeding and locatingpins are used. These pins are carried by a reciprocating pin carriageindicated as a whole by reference character P. As clearly shown in Fig.1 this pin carriage comprises a pair of parallel sliding bars 40-41 eachof which has a pair of shoulder studs 42 slidable within elongated slotsor runways 43 in the lower parallel arms 44 of a bracket member 45. Thepins 10 project downwardly from the lower edge of their respective bars40-41 and the pins of each pair are in transverse alignment relative tothe path in which the cards are fed fore and aft of the machine.

The bars 40-41 and pins 10 are moved forwardly in a horizontal plane. uwardly in a vertical plane, rearwardly in a horizontal plane, and downardly in a vertical plane during each card feeding cycle in a mannerclearly illustrated in Figs. 14 to 17. Forward and rearward movement isimparted to the bars 40-41 by a shaft 46 proiecting laterally from theup er end of a lever 47 and received by notches 48 in said bars. Thelower end of lever 47 is ivoted upon a stud 50 mounted in the frameplate 2. The means for moving lever 47 will presentl be described, butit will be noted at this time that forward and rearward movement of thecard feeding plate or picker knife 17 is effected through movement oflever 47 by a long link 51, lever 52 and a short link 53. As best shownin Fig. 2, the forward end of long link 51 is pivotally connected to theupper end of lever 47 and the other end of said link is pivotallyconnected to the upper end of lever 52. The short link 53 is pivotallyconnected between the upper end of lever 52 and the depending arm 38 ofblock 35. It will now be apparent that whenever forward and rearwardmovement is imparted to the bars 40-41, forward and rearward movement issimultaneously imparted to the picker knife 17 due to the linkage justdescribed.

As previously stated, the bars 40-41 are given vertical movement inaddition to horizontal movement, and the vertical movement of said barsoccurs in a downward direction at the beginning of a card feeding cycle(Fig. 15), and in an upward direction after the bars reach their extremeforward travel (Fig. 17). The means for imparting vertical movement tothe bars 40-41, and in turn the card feeding and locating pins 10,comprises a rock lever 54, the rear end of which has a shaft 55 thatrides in slots 56 formed in short arms 57 formed upon the bracket member45 above the lower arms 44. The bracket 45 has vertical slots 58 toreceive the shoulder studs 60, and the studs are screwed into thevertical plate 18 as clearly shown in Fig. 11. In this manner bracket 45is caused to slide upwardly upon the front face of plate 18 when lever54 is rocked counterclockwise upon its pivot pin 61 (Figs. 1, 2 and 11)and downwardly when said lever is rocked clockwise upon said pin 61(Figs. 7 and 8).

Card eject or stripping means A feature of construction of the cardfeeding means is that the cards C are positively ejected in a horizontalplane at the removal station RS by successively stacking them upon a setof the pins 26 in the manner clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Tothis end a pair of card stripper bars 62 are provided and guided forvertical reciprocating movement within aligned holes in the plates 11,12 and 13 respectively. The upper ends of the stripper bars 62 aresecured to a U-shaped bail 63 which in turn is pivotally carried by ashaft 64 projecting laterally from the forward end of the rock lever 54.It is obvious, therefore, that whenever lever 54 is rocked clockwiseupon its pivot 61 (Figs. 7, 8, 15 and 16) stripper bars 62 will beelevated until their lower ends are raised slightly above the lowersurface of plate 11 and out of the path of travel of the cards C whenthey are moved to the removal station by certain of the pins 10.Conversely, when lever 54 is caused to rock counterclockwise on itspivot pin 61 the stripper bars 62 will be moved downwardly (Figs. 2, 11,14 and 17) to strip the card C from the pins 10 adjacent the removalstation RS and transfer it to the pins 26 at said station. In thismanner it is impossible for the cards to lose their sequence as they arepositively controlled from the time they leave the pins 26 at thedelivery station DS, until they are deposited upon the pins 26 at theremoval station RS, as will be clear from Fig. 11.

Up to the present point of the description it is understood that rockingmotion of the lever 54, upon its pivot pin 61, effects vertical motionof the bracket 45 and stripper bars 62, and further understood that whenthe stripper bars 62 are moved in a downward direction. the feeding pins10 will be moved in an upward direction to withdraw them from the cardsC before being m ved horizontally in a rearward direction by the shaft46 in the manner previously described.

he means for rockin the lever 54 will now be described in connectionwith the driving mechanism.

Driving mechanism The driving mechanism for the machine will bedescribed with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Secured to a shaft 65.iournaled in the frame late 2. are two cams desi nated 66 and 67 whichcoo erate with and actuate the f llower rollers 68 nd 70. carried b thele rs 1 and 72 respectively. The lower end of levers 7172 re ivoted upona stud 73 mounted in the frame pl 2. The unner end of lever 71 isconnecte to lever 47 b a link 74. while he up er end f lever 72 iconnected t the l wer end of a two armed lever 75 (fast n he pivot in 61which is iournaled in the frame plate 2. as be illus rated in Fi 1). b alink 76.

Also fast on the shaft 65, is a gear 77 which meshes with a smaller gear78 journaled on a shaft 80 that projects outwardly from the frame plate2. Fixed for rotation with small gear 78, is a large pulley 81 which isrotated by a small pulley 82 fast on the motor shaft 83 of an electricmotor 84 through a belt 85. The motor is preferably mounted upon andsecured to the base plate 1 by screws 86. It will now be clear that whenelectric motor 84 is energized, shafts 80 and 65 will be rotated bymeans of the pulley 82, belt 85, pulley 81, and gears 78 and 77respectively to rotate the cams 66-67. The follower roller 68 is heldagainst the periphery of cam 66 by a spring 87, one end of which isanchored to a stud 88 (Fig. 2), projecting from the frame plate 2 andthe other end attached to the lever 52. Similarly, follower roller 70 isheld against the periphery of cam 67 by a spring 90 (Figs. 1 and 11),one end of which is anchored to a stud 91 on the frame plate 2 and theother end attached to a stud 92 carried by the lower arm of the twoarmed lever 75.

Timing In describing the timing of the various parts of the machine,reference should be made to the contours of the cams 66-67 used forcontrolling the pin carriage P, card stripper bars 62, picker knife 17and sensing mechanism indicated generally by reference numeral 93 inFigs. 1 and 11. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the earns 66 and67 in the positions, with respect to rollers 68: and 70, which theyoccupy when the pin carriage P is in its extreme rearward position andbeing lowered to engage the pins with the locating holes 28 in therecord cards C. As the cams turn clockwise in Fig. 3, roller 68continues to roll over the dwell portion 66a of cam 66, which permitsthe pin carriage P to remain in its extreme rearward position while itis being lowered by the roller 70, which at this time is following thedescending portion 67a of cam 67 to rock the lever 54 clockwise on itspivot pin 61. When the cams 6870 reach the positions shown in Fig. 4,the pin carriage P has reached its lowered position to engage the pins10 with the cards C and roller 68 now starts to descend portion 66b ofcam 66, which imparts forward motion to the pin carriage P and pickerknife 17 through the linkage heretofore described. While the roller 68is descending portion 66b of cam 66, roller 70 continues to roll overthe dwell portion 67b of cam 67 to permit the pin carriage P to remainin its lowered position while it is being moved in a forward position tofeed the cards C toward the removal station.

As the cams 6667 continue to rotate clockwise in Fig. 5, roller 68 rollsover the dwell portion 660, of cam 66, to permit the pin carriage P toremain in its extreme forward position while it is being raised by theroller 70, which at this time is following the ascending portion 67c ofcam 67 to rock the lever 54 counterclockwise on its pivot pin 61.

When the pin carriage P is fully elevated at its extreme forwardposition (Fig. 17) it is moved to its extreme rearward position (Fig.14) by roller 68, which at this time is following the ascending portion66d of cam 66 to rock the lever 54 counterclockwise on its pivot pin 61.When the pin carriage P reaches its extreme rearward, and elevatedposition (Figs. 2 and 14) it is again lowered by roller 70 following thedescending portion 67a of can 67 to rock the lever 54 clockwise on itspivot pin It will now be understood that for each revolution of the camshaft 65, the cams 6667 cause the pin carriage P to be moved in thefollowing manner: (a) vertically in a downward direction to engage thepins 10 with the locating holes 28 in cards C, (b) horizontally in aforward direction to positively feed the cards forward, (c) verticallyin an upward direction to remove the pins 10 from the cards C, and (d)horizontally in a rearward direction to return the carriage to thestarting position for another cycle of operation.

Sensing mechanism ing stations along the path of card travel between thedelivery station DS and removal station RS. In the present disclosure,and for the sake of simplicity, only two sensing or probing stations areshown but it is to be clearly understood that any number of such sensingstations may be employed, as desired without departing from theprinciples of the invention.

The sensing mechanism about to be explained in detail is a radicaldeparture from all prior card sensing mechanisms employing Bowden wires,since all conventional locking mechanisms for the wires have beeneliminated, and sensing of the perforated information is accomplisheddirectly by the wires, and the information is decoded directly from theset positions of the wires in a manner hereinafter explained.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 9, l0 and 11, a Bowden wire 94 is provided foreach code hole CH (Fig. 1) in the record cards C, and in the presentdisclosure provision is made for two hundred and eighty-eight such wiresat each of the sensing or probing stations PSA and PSB. Accordingly, theplates 11, 12 and 13 are each provided with five hundred and seventy-sixholes, or two hundred and eighty-eight holes adjacent each of thesensing stations PSA and PSB respectively, as best illustrated in Figs.9, l0 and 11.

Each Bowden wire 94 operates within a tubular casing 95, and one end ofeach casing 95' is inserted within the holes 96 and 97 in plates 12 and13 respectively as clearly shown in Fig. 9. The other end of each casing95, is similarly inserted in aligned holes in the plates 98 and 99 shownin Figs. 1 and 11. The length of each casing 95 is such that it is heldin the plates 12, 13 and 98, 99 respectively entirely by friction. Thisconstruction permits flexibility in the location of the sensingmechanism 93. However, in the present embodiment the sensing mechanism93 is shown supported by the frame plate 2. One end of each Bowden wire94 passes through a hole in plate 100 (Fig. 11) and is anchored in ahole in its associated sensing slide 101, while the other end passesthrough a hole in the plate 11 when entering a code hole CH in a card Cin a manner presently described.

The sensing slides 101 are slidably supported in slots 102-103 punchedin the plates 104-105 respectively (Figs. 1 and 11), and a spring 106encircles the reduced end of each slide 101 so that one end seatsagainst the plate and the other end against the shoulder 107 of theslide.

The plates 98, 99, 100 and 105 are rigidly supported in parallelrelation relative to one another upon the stud shafts 108 which in turnare carried by bars 109 fastened to the frame plate 2 by screws 110.Plate 104 is secured to a bar 111 that is slidably mounted upon the studshafts 108, and the bar is provided with a depending arm 112. Horizontalmovement of the bar 111, and in turn the plate 104, is effected by thelink 113, bell crank 114 and link 115. The bell crank 114 is pivotallymounted upon a stud 116, projecting laterally from the frame plate 2.One end of link 113 is pivotally connected with the upper arm of the twoarmed lever 75 previously described and its other end is pivotallyattached to the upper arm of the bell crank 114. The rearward end oflink 115 is pivotally connected with the lower arm of bell crank 114 andits forward end is pivotally attached to the depending arm 112 of bar111. It will now be clear that when lever 75 is rocked clockwise on itspivot pin 61, as previously described, bell crank 114 will be turnedclockwise upon its stud 116 thus moving the bar 111 and plate 104 to theleft as viewed in Fig. 11. Conversely, when lever 75 is rockedcounterclockwise on its pivot pin 61, bar 111 and plate 104 will bemoved to the right upon the stud shafts 108 for reasons explained underoperation of the machine which follows.

Operation The record card feeding and sensing apparatus above describedis prepared for operation as follows: A stack S of cards C is mountedupon the free ends of one set of the pins 26, the other ends of whichpins are detachably held in one of the blocks 16 by the ball detents 27.The controlled stack of cards is then placed in the magazine M with theblock 16 seating upon the indentations 31 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and2. The electric motor 84 is then energized to rotate the cams 6667.

One complete machine cycle will now be described and the manner in whichthe cards are fed will be considered first with reference to Figs. 14 to17. At the beginning of a card feeding cycle the parts will be in thepositions shown in Fig. 14, wherein the bottom card C in the magazine Mis resting on the card supporting plate or table 7 in the path of thepicker knife 17. The card feeding pins 10 are elevated and in theirextreme rearward position, and the stripper bars 62 are in loweredposition. As the cams 6667 are rotated clockwise (Fig. 2) the pincarriage P will be lowered to engage the feeding pins 10 with thelocating holes 28 in cards C C and C (Fig. 14) and the stripper bars 62will be raised as illustrated in Fig. 15. Further rotation of the cams6667 then causes the pin carriage P to be moved forward from itsposition in Fig. 15 to its position in Fig. 16. During this forwardmovement of the pin carriage, picker knife 17 moves card C forwardlyfrom the bottom of the stack 8 to the position formerly occupied by cardC while the pins 10 advance the cards 0*, C and C one position to theleft at which time the cards C and C are adjacent the sensing or probingstations PSB and PSA respectively and card C is beneath the stripperbars 62 as illustrated in Fig. 16.

Still further clockwise movement of the cams 6667 causes the pincarriage P to be elevated to withdraw the pins 10 from the cards C and Cresting adjacent the sensing stations, and the stripper bars 62 to belowered to transfer card C from its pair of pins 10 to a set of pins 26projecting upwardly from their block 16, the latter being held in properalignment relative to the pins 10 by a framework 39 mounted upon baseplate 1 as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The perforated information in the cards C and C is simultaneously sensedby the Bowden wires 94 during the time the cards are adjacent thesensing stations PSA and PSB respectively.

As the lever 54 turns counterclockwise on its pivot 61 under control ofthe cam 66, to elevate the pin carriage P by means heretofore described,plate 104 is moved rearwardly, or to the right (Fig. 11). Springs 106then urge the sensing slides 101 to follow the plate 104 until the freeends of the wires 94 are stopped by the cards C and C standing at thesensing stations, unless there is a code hole CH in alignment with suchwires, in which event the wire passes through the code hole CHpermitting further travel of its associated slide 101.

The positions of the sensing slides 101 can then be utilized fornumerous controls. For example, the displacement of the slides 101 canbe conveniently utilized to (a) control a punching mechanism for thepurpose of reproducing another record card, such as a key-sort card orthe like, (b) be decoded for use in reproducing tabulator cards or thelike, (0) serve as the set-up means for timing elements which controldelayed actions of card sorting mechanisms or the like, (d) serve ascard comparing mechanisms and the like, (e) control accumulator settingmechanisms or the like for computing purposes, and (f) control printinginstrumentalities and the like.

It may be pointed out now that although the cards C are not held by thepins 10, while being sensed, they are held by pressure of the springs106 for all wires 94 which are stopped by the cards due to the absenceof code holes CH adjacent such wires, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 9.

Still further rotation of the cams 6667 returns the pin carriage P fromits position in Fig. 17 to its position in Fig. 14 thereby completingone card feeding cycle of the machine. The sensing slides 101 are allreturned to their normal forward positions by the forward movement ofplate 104 effected simultaneously with the lowering of pin carriage P atthe beginning of the next card feeding cycle as heretofore explained.

From the foregoing detailed description of the feeding and sensingapparatus for punched record cards, and operation of the same, it willnow be obvious that the cards are positively handled at all times, thatis, from the time they leave the delivery station DS until they aredeposited horizontally upon the receiving pins 26 at the removal stationRS. Thus it is impossible to lose a given sequence of the cards, as sooften happens in prior card feeding and sensing mechanisms.

Furthermore. the cards can be run through the machine any desired numberof times in exact sequence by changing the block 16 from one end to theother of the pins 26.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention by means of a singleillustrative embodiment, it will be understood that various omissionsand substitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, theoperating stations PSA and PSB, located between the delivery station DSand removal station RS, are illustrated as sensing stations but it willbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the operatingstations between the delivery and removal stations may be utilized forprinting, punching, comparing or other operations besides sensingoperations without changing or altering the manner or method in whichthe cards are accurately fed and located at such stations by the novelfeeding mechanism of the instant invention. It is the intention,therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the followingclaims.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a machine for feeding irregular sized statistical record cardshaving feeding and locating holes therein interspersed with theperforated information in the cards, the combination of a card deliverystation; a card removal station; at least one operating stationintermediate said delivery and removal stations; a first pin means atsaid delivery station cooperating with said card feeding and locatingholes to retain the cards in a given relation relative to one another; asecond pin means subsequently engageable with said card feeding andlocating holes to intermittently feed the cards to said operatingstation and accurately position the perforated information in said cardsadjacent said last named station; and a third pin means adjacent saidremoval station cooperable with said holes to insure card sequenceidentical to that in which they leave the pins at said delivery station.

2. In a perforated record card feeding and sensing device, thecombination of a card delivery station; a card removal station; at leastone card sensing station located between said delivery and removalstations; means to intermittently feed cards between said delivery andremoval stations including a plurality of feeding pins; means to engagesaid pins with feed holes in said cards; means to move said pins towardsaid removal station during their card feeding stroke; means to withdrawsaid pins, at the end of their feeding stroke, from engagement with saidcards; means to return said pins toward said delivery station while theyare disengaged from said cards; and means to sense the perforatedinformation in said cards while they are adjacent said sensing station.

3. In a perforated record card feeding and sensing device as claimed inclaim 2 wherein the means to sense the perforated information in saidcards while they are adjacent said sensing station comprises flexiblewires and sensing slides.

4. In a perforated record card feeding and sensing device, thecombination of a card delivery station; a card removal station: at leastone card sensing station located between said delivery and removalstations; positive means to intermittently feed cards between saiddelivery and removal stations comprising, a plurality of feeding pins:means to engage said pins with feed holes in said c rds; means to movesaid pins horizontally toward said removal station during their cardfeeding stroke; means to withdraw said pins. at the end of their feedingstroke. from enga ement with said cards: means to return said ninstoward said delivery station while thev are disengaged m said cards;means to sense the erforated informati n in said cards While they areadjacent said sensing station includin flexib e wires: and sensingslides directly connected to and moved by said wires.

5. A perforated record card feeding device comprising in combination, amagazine for supporting a stack of p forated record cards having feedingholes therein; a reciprocal plate adapted. on its forward stroke, toengage said stack to feed a card therefrom; a pin carriage mounted forhorizontal and vertical movements; feed pins mounted to move with saidcarriage: and means to move said carria e vertically to enga e said pinswith said feed holes in the cards, horizontally to feed the cards in adirection away from said magazine. vertically to remove said pins fromsaid card feed holes, and horizontally toward said magazine during thetime the pins are disengaged from the feed holes in said cards.

6. A perforated record card feeding mechanismcomprising in combination,a magazine for supporting a vertical stack of perforated record cardshaving feeding holes therein; a reciprocal prate adapted, on its forwardstroke, to engage said stack to feed the lowermost card therefrom; a pincarriage mounted for both horizontal and vertical movements; feed pinsmounted for movement with said carriage; and means to move said carriagevertically to engage said pins with said feed holes in the cards,horizontally to feed the cards in a direction away from said magazine,vertically to remove said pins from said card feed holes, andhorizontally toward said magazine during the time the pins aredisengaged from the feed holes in said cards, said last named meansacting to reciprocate said plate during horizontal movements only ofsaid pin carriage.

7. In a machine for positively feeding and sensing perforatedstatistical record cards comprising the combination of a card deliverystation including a magazine having a card removal slot adjacent thebottom thereof; adjustable means to vary the height of said card slot; afirst card feeding means including a plate mounted for reciprocatingmovement fore and aft of the machine and effective to feed cards fromsaid magazine one at a time; a card removal station; at least oneanalyzing or probing station; a second positive card feeding meansincluding a plurality of feed pins operable to intermittently advancecards, fed from said magazine by said first card feeding means, to saidanalyzing or probing station; card probing means effective to analyzethe perforated information in each card while it is adjacent saidprobing station; means to strip certain of said cards from certain ofsaid feeding pins after they have passed said probing station; and meanscooperable with said card stripping means to effectively preventintersorting of the cards at said card removal station therebymaintaining a given sequence of the cards identical to that in whichthey are removed from said delivery station, said last named meanscomprising a plurality of stacking pins disposed in axial alignment withcertain of said first named pins as the latter reach said removalstation.

8. In a record card feeding apparatus, the combination of a carddelivery station; a card removal station; positive propelling means forsuccessively and intermittently moving the cards in a horizontal pathfrom said delivery station toward said removal station, said propellingmeans including a plurality of feed pins adapted to enter feed holes inthe cards to move the latter during movement of said propelling means inone direction only; means to positively remove said cards from the feedpins adjacent the removal station; means to withdraw the feed pins fromengagement with the feed holes in said cards; and means to drive saidpropelling means in a direction toward said delivery station during thetime said pins are disengaged from the cards, and in a direction awayfrom said delivery station when said pins are engaged with said cards.

9. In a record card feeding apparatus as specified in claim 8 whereinthe means for driving the pin propelling means includes a pair of camsand linkage driven by the cams and connected with the propelling meanssubstantially as described.

10. In a perforated record card feeding and sensing mechanism of thecharacter described, the combination of a card delivery station; a cardremoval station; at least one card sensing station located between saidcard delivery and removal stations; card feeding means adapted tointermittently feed cards between said delivery and removal stationscomprising a plurality of spaced pairs of feeding pins; means to effectengagement of said pins with feed holes in said cards; means to movesaid pins away from said delivery station and toward said removalstation when feeding cards; means to effect disengagement of said pinsfrom the feed holes in said cards at the end of the card feeding strokeof said pins; means to move said pins away from said removal station andtoward said delivery station during the time the pins are disengagedfrom said cards; and means to sense the perforated information in saidcards while they are adjacent said sensing station, said last namedmeans comprising a plurality of flexible wires adapted to shiftpredetermined distances according to the perforated information in saidcards, said wires being connected with corresponding sensing slideswhich are moved by the wires to set posi- 10 tions according to saidperforated information in the cards.

11. In a perforated record card feeding and sensing mechanism of thecharacter described; the combination of a card delivery station; a cardremoval station; at least one card sensing station located between saidcard delivery and removal stations; card feeding means adapted tointermittently feed cards between said delivery and removal stationscomprising a plurality of spaced pairs of feeding pins; means to effectengagement of said pins with feed holes in said cards including a pincarriage; means to move said pins and carriage away'from said deliverystation and toward said removal station when feeding cards; means toeffect disengagement of said pins from the feed holes in said cards atthe end of the card feeding stroke of said pins; means to move said pinsand carriage away from said removal station and toward said deliverystation during the time the pins are disengaged from said cards; andmeans to sense the perforated information in said cards while they areat rest adjacent said sensing station, said last named means comprisinga plurality of flexible wires adapted to shift axially predetermineddistances according to the perforated information in said cards, saidwires being directly connected with corresponding sensing slides whichare directly moved by the wires to set positions according to saidperforated information in the cards.

12. Apparatus for feeding intermixed documents or cards of widelyvarying sizes in the same run comprising, a card delivery station; acard removal station; vertical pin means at said delivery stationserving to retain predetermined information areas or zones on saidintermixed and Widely varying sized cards in accurate vertical alignmentwithin said delivery station; positive card propelling means forsuccessively and intermittently advancing the cards from said deliverystation to said removal station including aligned pairs of feeding pinsadapted to enter and be withdrawn from spaced feed holes in the cards;vertical stacking pins at said removal station; and positive meansoperable to transfer said cards, one at a time, from the pair of feedpins adjacent the removal station to said stacking pins to insure cardsequence identical to that in which they leave the pins at said deliverystation.

13 Apparatus for feeding records of intermixed irregular sizes, eachrecord having a plurality of combined feeding and locating holes thereincomprising: a record delivery station; a first pin means at saiddelivery station cooperable with the feeding and locating holes in therecords to maintain accurate alignment of predetermined informationzones or areas on said irregular sized records relative to one another;a record removal station; at least one recording station intermediatesaid delivery and removal stations; record feeding means including asecond pin means cooperable with the feeding and locating holes in saidrecords to intermittently feed the records from said delivery station,past said recording station and to said removal station; a third pinmeans adjacent said removal station; and means to positively transfersaid records from said second pin means to said third pin means toinsure stacking of the records on said third pin means in a sequenceidentical to that in which they are removed from said first pin means.

14. Apparatus for feeding records as set forth in claim 13 wherein therecord delivery station includes a magazine within which the irregularsized records are stacked upon the first pin means; and a weight bearingon said stack, and guided by said first pin means insures proper feedingof the records downwardly along said first pin means towards said secondpin means.

15. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of: meansfor feeding record cards of mixed sizes having predetermined informationzones or areas thereon comprising, a card delivery station; pin means atsaid delivery station passing through holes in the cards to maintainaccurate vertical alignment of the information zones or areas of thecards regardless of their mixed lengths and widths; a card removalstation; at least one operating station intermediate said delivery andremoval stations; and means to feed the cards one at a time from saiddelivery station, past said operating station, and to said removalstation including a second pin means to maintain accurate registrationof the information zones or areas on said cards of mixed sizes as theypass said operating station and reach said removal station.

16. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of: meansfor intermittently feeding and sensing record cards of intermixed sizesin the same run comprising, a card delivery station; pin means at saiddelivery station passing through holes in the cards to maintain accuratevertical alignment of zones or areas of punched information contained inthe cards regardless of their mixed lengths and/or widths; a cardremoval station; at least one sensing station intermediate said deliveryand removal stations; and means to intermittently feed the cards one ata time from the pins at said delivery station, past said sensingstation, and to said removal station, said last named means including asecond pin means to maintain accurate registration of the zones or areasof punched information in said cards of intermixed sizes as they passsaid sensing station and reach said removal station.

17. In a device of the character described for intermittently feedingstatistical records of irregular sizes in the same run, each recordhaving a plurality of feeding and locating holes therein, thecombination comprising:

a record delivery station; pin means at said delivery station passingthrough said feeding and locating holes in said records to maintainaccurate vertical alignment of the zones or information areas of saidrecords of irregular sizes; a record removal station; at least oneoperating station intermediate said delivery and removal stations; areciprocating pin carriage; and record feeding and locating meansincluding pairs of horizontally aligned pins carried by said carriageand cooperating with the feeding and locating holes in said records tointermittently feed the records from said delivery station to saidoperating station and from said operating station to said removalstation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSLeathers Feb. 26, 1946

